RIO LECTURE 221 



As regards Minas Geraes, I noticed a certain predilection for the 

 mining industry. Allow me, however, to call your attention to an 

 indisputable fact, which applies not only to Minas but especially to 

 Sao Paulo, Parahyba and Rio Grande do Norte, i.e., the existence of 

 real gold mines for the exploitation of which it is not necessary to go 

 deeper into the soil than the depth of a hoe : working the soil with any 

 kind of agricultural implement will bring forth treasures undoubtedly 

 richer than those of the famous gold mine, " Morro Velho." In this 

 mine some 3.000 miners are engaged daily and although the conditions 

 under which these people work are the best possible, yet it must be 

 conceded that work in the fields, in the open air, is by far healthier than 

 Avorking underground, and I feel certain that by employing 3,000 

 strong men in cotton cultivation, either in the Serido or in Sao Paulo, 

 or in fact in any other cotton zone, would in ten years realise greater 

 wealth than has been brought to light during the whole of the existence 

 of ■" Morro Velho."' 



Means op Communication. — Minas Geraes has very rich land, 

 especially along the Sao Francisco river, but this vast stretch of country 

 will remain of very little value to the world at large as long as the 

 transport facilities are not considerably improved. All agriculture, 

 all progress depends completely on the means of communication. 

 What is the good of fertile land and industrious people if their products 

 cannot be brought to the markets of the world ? The traveller on the 

 few steamers plying on this river is constantly impressed by the 

 industry of the people working in the fields that are bordering the 

 banks. 



Speaking of means of communication, it is my pleasant duty to 

 express my admiration for the net of motor roads that have been con- 

 structed in the last few years in the States of Parahyba and Rio Grande 

 do Norte. They are already revolutionising the social and economic 

 life of this vast interior, as the exporters are gradually penetrating 

 into the interior and beginning to have their cotton ginned and baled 

 near to where it has been grown. In this way several intermediary 

 agents, who are mostly speculators, are being cut out and the farmer 

 is beginning to obtain a price commensurate with his work. 



The World's Cotton Position. — Before terminating I desire to 

 say a few Avords on the world's cotton position as it presents itself to me 

 at present and in the future. Prices of all raw materials are low through 

 the consequences of the world's poverty caused by the war, and cotton 

 has not escaped this world's crisis. It is not overstating the case if one 

 estimates that half the spindles of the world have been stopped 

 during the last six months, due to the absence of orders caused by lack 

 of confidence in the world's political and financial position. But this 

 depressed state of affairs cannot continue much longer and as. cotton 

 is the best and cheapest fibre for clothing the poor as well as the rich, 

 it is bound to come in good demand at the first turn of events. New 

 processes invented enable cotton to take the place of silk. Many new 

 industries « hich are likely to develop on a much larger scale, such as the 

 manufacture of pneumatic tyres, motor-car hoods, cloth for aero- 

 planes, etc.. require cotton as one of the most important raw materials ; 

 cotton is also used as a substitute for leather (trunks, shoes, etc.). 

 Before the war there was already a scarcity of cotton, especially of 



